Four Corners and Two Sides
by Unscented Rain 0742
Summary: Tetsuya disappared after high school graduation without a trace like the shadow he was. Ten years later, things have changed. Akashi has inherited the true family business, and was managing it with the rest of his Miracles. It was pure coincidence now, when Murasakibara found an injured, pale man hanging from a bridge, with a pair of strikingly, blank, blue eyes. MafiaAU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, Rain here with a new story! I'm sorry I haven't been updating "Nanairo" recently since I haven't errr exactly fished out yet how it's supposed to go aha sorry ;_;" I promise within this month I'll have something up for it, but still...yeah. That's my first fic and my trial fic, so I'm not sure how it's gonna go smooth or rough eek. I'll do my best though!**

**Also, this story was inspired by Sleeping With Siren's "Four Corners and Two Sides" and "Fire" heehee. I don't own them, okay? 'Belongs to them, y'all!**

**Post-Script: How do you guys feel about having a KnB Facebook Community? =w=**

**Okay done babbling. Enjoy!**

**Nothing is mine unless stated.**

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It started in their second year of middle school, and it wasn't supposed to happen either. Tetsuya was supposed to stay undercover until he graduated high school, and was to not show any part of his skills and true self when it wasn't working hours for him.

He really didn't mean it, he swore.

Tetsuya forgot something in the gym lockers one afternoon, and he realized it when he was already outside the school gates. He debated on whether he should just leave it or take it back. He was tired and wanted to get a Popsicle or two with the others, but that thing he left was important. He couldn't leave it behind, because if anyone found it, it would mean trouble for him, and hell for whoever found it.

After all, he would have to break that seal he placed on himself if that ever happened.

So, he apologized to his friends, and ran back to the school with all the remaining energy he had left. Once he arrived there, all sweaty and more tired than before, he stopped in front of the gym's doors as he heard grunts of pain from the inside.

Slowly, he opened the sliding door of the gym, and with his little presence, he easily peeked into the place without getting noticed. The first thing that caught his attention was the shock of yellow hair on the floor, and the tints of red gathering on it. Then, he took notice of the other taller people surrounding him, and the things in their hands and on their faces.

Smirks. Grins. Sets of pearly white teeth showed off in a big smile. Bats in hands. Balled fists. Brass knuckles.

Kise-kun on the floor, his head seemingly to have been smashed down on the wood below him, and the red that was seeping through his golden blonde hair.

Tetsuya didn't know what made him react, or what made him snap in general. Maybe because he was really tired, or maybe because he was frustrated for leaving his things and being careless, or for coming here when he could've just prayed that no one gets what belongs to him, and get it tomorrow. He had greater self-control than this, and he knew better than to act so recklessly like Aomine-kun and Murasakibara-kun, but he did. He snapped into two as he saw that metal bat swing down on his student, his new teammate,_ his friend_, and watched as that head collided with the floor once again.

Thankfully, he was thin and unnoticeable enough to open the door a bit larger—but not large enough to let sunlight seep in—and slipped through the space he provided himself. Quietly, he shut the door and.

But not quite quiet enough.

The upperclassmen stopped what they were doing and looked around, searching for who could've opened the door. "Who was that?"

One shrugged. "I don't know, dude. Let's just carry on, or someone might catch us here."

"You mean someone might catch sight of this model," another dug his foot into Kise-kun's stomach, and Tetsuya barely suppressed the growl to escape from his throat, as he bent down to retrieve something from his legs, "—all bloodied up and not looking so perfect anymore, right?"

The group of five barked out in amusement at the joke, as Kise-kun coughed violently as the foot stomped repeatedly into him as they laughed. Tetsuya saw it—he saw the tears threatening to spill from joyous, golden eyes, which were now starting to brim with fear, determination fading. He knew he was starting to lose consciousness, if the blood when he entered the gym and the bruises were any indication.

It made Tetsuya's blood boil. The fact that these upperclassmen—_trash, trash, trash, trash, trash_—were people he and Kise-kun played with almost on a daily basis, would hurt another because of jealousy and pride. He knew how it felt; to be unnoticed as you try so hard while others who may or may not be trying as hard get promoted while you stay down. They bloom, you don't. They move on, they evolve, they beautify, _and you don't_. He knew that feeling all too well, but he never acted upon it. He got to the top on his own efforts and some from Aomine-kun and Akashi-kun. He believed in Loyalty and Camaraderie. He hated betrayals. He hated them—_dreaded, loathed, he was disgusted by such acts that were caused by such petty, petty things and yet, they managed to create gigantic heaps of trouble_—and no matter what, he couldn't forgive anyone who did so.

What this was, it was a betrayal in a simple form. Just like backstabbing, spreading rumours and leaving banana peels on the ground or laughing at someone out loud.

As he eyed Kise-kun once more, he watched as his slightly pale eyelids—from the blood loss, no doubt—slowly dropped down, yet he managed to fight back. _'No matter what it seemed, Kise-kun was still Kise-kun.'_

He let a little small slip into his face.

'_It's okay now, Kise-kun. You can sleep.'_

Crouching down a bit, pale blue eyes narrowed in a glare, and silently, he charged.

Suddenly, all laughter stopped as one of the upperclassmen fell to the ground, part of his body falling onto the fallen Kise-kun, who was growing dizzier and dizzier. He fell to ground, a knife embedded into his back, just behind the heart.

Yet, judging from how long the hilt was and the amount of blood seeping through his uniform, the knife was stabbed deeply into him, most likely reaching the heart already.

The remaining four looked around, guards up as they searched the killer of their friend, equipped with bats and brass knuckles. They wouldn't let that slip, oh no. They'll beat that piece of shit up too, like what they did to the shitty blonde, and they'll beat him up so bad that he'll be dead too—

A sharp shot rang throughout the gym, and the other dropped his bat, placing his hands on his neck. At the side of his neck was a gaping hole where the bullet went through. The said bullet went through the other side of his neck, and was now rolling away on the polished and wooden floor, spreading red onto it. He raised his head up high, struggling to breathe as the bullet hit directly onto his windpipe, and said part now had a gaping hole in it, air not entering properly or at all even, yet going out easily. He fell to his knees, and starting trashing around, foam forming at the side of his mouth.

"Tch!" One clicked his tongue. "Come out, you shit! Don't be a coward and face us head on!"

Tetsuya stepped closer to them, yet, still stood under the shadow of the windows. The upperclassmen's eyes widened at the sight of the Generation of Miracle's Phantom Player, one hand holding a pistol, the other, a dagger.

"Ku-Kuroko…" One stuttered in shock, momentarily unclenching his fists, letting the brass knuckles fall to the ground audibly. "W-What are you…"

"A coward…you say." Tetsuya said, taking a step out of the shadows—one foot remaining in the darkness, one out to the light. "You dare call me such strong words, _senpai_-tachi." It was his normal voice, normal blankness, normal Kuroko Tetsuya. Yet, it was sharp, dangerous, _lethal_. "When you don't even know yourselves."

One from the frozen three, brave as he was, spoke up, "What the fuck do you mean, hah?! Are you trying to say _we're cowards_ or something? That we're _shits_?" He scoffed, and pointed his bat at him. "If anything, that'd be you and this shit here," he kicked the half-conscious Kise-kun's chin, "Since he's just a newbie and yet he's in the first string, and you—you're shit at basketball and yet you're here!" He smirked. "And here you are, with a gun and a shitty knife. What, are you trying to kill us or something for hurting your _oh-so precious _friend?"

Tetsuya stayed silent the whole time, and instead, twirled his dagger around his hands. "Well, what do you say, _Kuroko-kun_?" The upperclassman taunted with a shit-eating grin in place.

The shadow stopped twirling his weapon. It was silent. "I say," he began, "I'm thankful that a _stupid and cowardly _senpai like _you _has brains."

Then, in the blink of an eye, he flicked his wrist and the dagger went straight through the loudmouth's head, the sharpest part of it sticking out on the back of his head. With an audible 'thud,' he fell to his side, eyes wide open in fear as blood spilled from where he was stabbed.

The other two stood in fear as slowly, Tetsuya went out of the shadows, his footsteps echoing in the deathly silent gym. One dropped his bat, and it joined the brass knuckles on the floor.

"I don't normally do this, senpai-tachi." Tetsuya began as he walked towards them painfully slowly. "You and I both know that my patience is longer than this. I, myself, don't know what caused me to snap so easily." A small smile bloomed on his lips, as his footsteps grew louder, as his simple steps became stomps. "Maybe because I'm tired, and that I really want to go home. I just left something here and I come back to see you all _ruining _my friend."

He stopped. One hand went behind his back, and once it went back to his side, the two noticed the new gun in hand.

"More importantly, I wasn't even supposed to do this at all. It's not time yet for you or Kise-kun to know." He raised both arms and aimed at them. "It's not time for anyone to know at all. And because of that," he unlocked both the safeties at once, and the two began to shake, "I'll have to make sure you keep quiet, senpai-tachi."

Two guns, yet one simple, resounding bang echoed through the gym, and both bodies fell in sync to the ground, blood oozing from their chests and smoke from his guns. At the same time, he brought down his arms, and eyed his friend.

Kise-kun was unconscious. One upperclassman's body was partially on him, and Tetsuya mercilessly kicked the offending body away, not paying it any mind as it collided with the floor and its arm lay on the other upperclassman. Tetsuya crouched down to Kise-kun's level, and he placed back his pistols in their proper places—one at the back of his thigh, the other, behind his back. Once both hands were free, he used one hand to elevate the blonde's head, and the other, to stroke his hair.

It would've made a peaceful scene—Kise-kun in Tetsuya's arms, being stroked so affectionately, so _warmly_— if there weren't five dead bodies around them.

They stayed like that for a while, until the sound of the gym door and footsteps heading their way invaded Tetsuya's ears. Currently, they were facing against the door, and he knew if he moved suddenly, Kise-kun would wake up and see the chaos he's caused—and at the moment, he did not want that to happen. He was about to reach for his gun once more, until he heard them get closer. He knew those steps. He knew that style of breathing. He knew that aura.

A yawn was heard, and the shadow turned to look at the black haired upperclassman of his that carried the thing he came back for, and hovered above the duo. Tetsuya's guard lowered down, and he let out a sigh of relief before tilting his head upwards. "Senpai."

He gave a slight nod, and Tetsuya nodded back. Wordlessly, he gave him his schoolbag, and turned around. He took out his phone, started dialling a few numbers, and placed it close to his ear. When someone picked up, he spoke, "Oi. I need a few cleaners here, will 'ya? There are five dead here and I need…" he looked around. "A set fit for ten. The blood here is shit, seriously."

After a while, the call ended and he kept his phone. He opened the door and stepped out. However, before he shut the door, he looked over his shoulder and said, "The papers are in there. Be sure to read them." Then, he looked at his watch. "Hurry up, Kuroko. The infirmary's gonna close soon."

Tetsuya nodded and said quietly, "Thank you, Nijimura-senpai."

Nijimura-senpai walked away, and Tetsuya stood up with Kise-kun on his shoulders, and his bag in his hands. They split up, and silently, the duo went to the infirmary. A feeling of guilt grew in Tetsuya, and immediately, he smashed it down.

Kise-kun remembered nothing that happened.

**-xxx-**

"Are?" Momoi asked as she got out of the convenience store, two popsicles in hand. "Where'd Tetsu-kun go?"

Daiki grunted as he chomped on his snow cone. "'Said he had to go back to school. Forgot his school bag."

The manager blinked owlishly. "What are you talking about, Dai-chan?" She asked, before raising her arms up in the air, where her right had one bag, and the left, another. "It's with me!"

The group went silent.

"Speaking of which," Shintarou pushed up his glasses with his left, as his right held an ice cream-less popsicle stick, "Didn't we leave behind that Kise guy with the other senpai-tachi, who said they had to talk to him in the gym?"

"Hmm. Kuro-chin said he left his bag in the locker rooms. That's there too." Atsushi chewed nosily on his bag of chips. "That seems suspicious, ne, Aka-chin?"

All heads turned to the redhead, who was reading a pocket novel. He looked up from his novel, before letting a small look of curiosity come to place. "Hn. Yes, it is."

"What do we do then?" Momoi opened her Popsicle, and placed it in her mouth, savouring the coldness. It felt _wonderful, _but something didn't seem right. "Something gives me a bad feeling with what you guys are saying."

Akashi closed his book shut, and placed it in his bag. "Ki—Ryouta is most likely in trouble, and so would be Tetsuya."

The group wasted no time in running back to the school.

**-xxx- **

They passed by Nijimura on the way to school, and they bombarded him with loads of questions, all having the same meaning: Where are Kuroko Tetsuya and Kise Ryouta?

He didn't answer, he didn't shrug. He did, however, walk past them as he closed his eyes and placed his hands behind his head, and formed his lips as if were whistling. "It's kinda funny to see such a small guy carry another practically twice his height and weight on his back, you know? Especially when the big guy's all bloody and unconscious and practically half-dead."

Nijimura then went on his merry way, and they all headed for the infirmary, understanding full well what their eccentric former captain was trying to say.

They knew that the room must be locked, as it was an hour after school ended already, and so they resorted to violence and Atsushi kicked the door down. The scent of antiseptic filled the air and the scent of metallic copper as well. All eyes flickered to the lone bed in the room, where an unconscious and newly-bandaged blonde lay asleep, and beside him, a pale boy was preparing medicine for him if ever he wakes up.

"Ah." Tetsuya turned around, feeling hot gazes on his back. "Everyone. What are you doing here?"

"Tetsu!" Daiki said in surprise. "What the hell happened?!"

Tetsuya placed the tray of medicine down, and went to the table to get a glass of water. "Well, like I said, I had to go back to the gym to get my school bag, but then I saw Kise-kun all bloodied up on the gym floor." He poured himself a glass before getting a new one for Ryouta. "Then Nijimura-senpai found us and told me to get him to the infirmary."

The shadow walked back to Ryouta's bedside, and set the water down with the medicine. "And the attackers?" Shintarou asked, watching their manager check over the blonde in worry. "What happened to them?"

"Judging from the blood on Nijimura-senpai's knuckles, I'd say they were well-taken care of." The blank look on the pale teen's face was quite unnerving for what he said. However, they knew it was normal for him, and knew that he was immediately straight to the point, no matter what.

Akashi raised a brow. Something seemed off with the way things were. "However, Tetsuya," he began, "How did you get in, when the infirmary was locked?" He asked.

"Ah, actually the nurse left it open." He said as he got a chair from the stack, and placed it beside the blonde and sat down on it. "So I had all the access to this whole place. Luckily she left a manual of sorts if ever something like this happens." He pointed nonchalantly to the medium-sized poster on the wall, which was filled with text and a few pictures on different kinds of injuries and what to do with them. "I locked it afterwards though, for privacy reasons."

It was a fair reasoning, but something was off. Akashi can feel it, yet it all seemed so _normal_. Tetsuya's blank eyes. Tetsuya's pale blue hair. Tetsuya's pale complexion. Tetsuya's bluntness. Tetsuya's mannerisms.

It was all the same, maybe save for the fact that he spoke more, but it was understandable. In a situation like this, playing twenty questions would be tiring, and it could possibly wake the sleeping Ryouta with all the noise they would cause. He was quick to the point even if he spoke more; in fact, he seemed blunter as he did so.

Yet the fact it seemed so normal seemed so different. It was unexplainable to Akashi, but he knew something was off.

"Ehh." Murasakibara drawled out. "But Kuro-chin, why did you get your school bag when you brought one and left it with Sacchin?"

Momoi froze, and then she remembered. "Sou, sou!" She huffed and pouted. " Tetsu-kun, you left it with me, remember? So what did you get here then?"

Tetsuya was quick to reply. Akashi wasn't sure if it were rehearsed or the truth. "I actually left it yesterday, so today I brought a spare." He pointed at the extra one which Daiki now carried. "They have the same contents, luckily, but the one I got today," he picked the one from the floor up , "Had important test papers I need to review over for tomorrow."

"Oh, is that so?" The manager blinked owlishly, before breaking into a smile and hugging him. "Well, I'm glad you're safe and you saved Ki-chan, Tetsu-kun!"

Tetsuya nodded and she stood up and went back to the group. "You can go ahead, everyone." He said. "I'll wait until Kise-kun wakes up. Also, the nurse hasn't left yet anyway, since her things are still here." His gaze flickered to the leather bag on a table. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

They looked unconvinced, but a word from Akashi means law. "Yes, we'll be doing just that, Tetsuya." He then faced the others, "Come, let's go. We don't want to stress Ryouta when he wakes up now, do we?"

"Well…no." Daiki said, sheepishly rubbing his head.

"Then, let's go." As one, they headed for the door. However, before completely leaving, Akashi looked back at Tetsuya, who was now reading from a bunch of papers in different sizes and colours, and he could see tints of red on them—studying old test papers, he presumed. "We'll be going now. Take care of Ryouta for us."

Tetsuya looked up from his notebook, and nodded. Akashi nodded back, turned around, and left. The shadow turned back to his notebook, and his gaze hardened once more as his guard went up.

"I hope Kise-kun wakes up soon," he whispered to himself, "Or at least, the nurse comes back earlier. I cannot afford to be late this time." He looked at the clock. 5:30 pm. "I am being called by Nijimura-senpai's family again for another mission at 6:30 pm."

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**Okay, done! I'll have the next chapter up soon. The plot for this has been done, and character development is half-way done too. Don't overlook anything at all in this chapter, okay? Especially Nijimura's apperance. **

**Well, it's near midnight and I have to sleep eek. Tell me your thoughts on this chapter and the idea of an FB Community/Page for KnB Fanfiction!**

**-Unscented Rain 0742 ****(060513)-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Waaah. This chapter was...weird, in a way. I felt unsatisfied at some point, but then when I just kept typing and typing away, I felt better when my mind was not into it nyhueheueheue.**

**Thanks for the favorites and the follows, and most especially, the reviews! TheReihani (first reviewer! thank thank thank yooou!), PennyBlu, iivogelchen, and hitomi65.**

**Also, about that KnB FF facebook page, I plan to make one. I'm just not sure on how I should do it, since well, it'll be my first community desu ;_;". But still! I believe we need our own group too! We're a fandom, we write, and we're a fandom (did I say we're obsessed? uwu) and so, we need one too! So again, please tell me your inputs through PM or reviews, thank you!**

**Well, okay here's chapter two. Enjoy, and remember, nothing's mine~!**

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"Today's the day, huh, Kuroko?" Taiga grinned stupidly at his partner, who was fixing his cap and its tail.

Tetsuya looked up to the redhead and nodded. "Ah yes, as you can see from our togas and hats, Kagami-kun."

A vein throbbed in the redhead's forehead, and he easily reached out for that pale neck and placed him in a headlock. "Why you—"

"Kagami-kun, don't mess up Kuroko's hair!" Furihata called from the side, helping Fukuda straighten out his toga. "You know how his hair is—once it's messed up, it's hard to fix it again!"

Kawahara nodded as he got hair gel from his bag and pushed Taiga away and removed Tetsuya's cap. "Sou, sou! You don't know how long it took me to fix his hair, damn it! Don't just ruin other people's hard work!"

Taiga watched with a few drops of sweat rolling from his forehead at the sight of a semi-bald teen fixing another teen with much more hair than he had. It was quite amusing to see that, along with another two by the sides, helping each other look presentable for today. "Well, whatever. Sorry 'bout that, Kuroko."

"It's okay." Tetsuya's head was pulled back a little at the intensity Kawahara was placing gel on him, and pulling his hair back. "I'm used to it." Taiga shot him a grin, and Tetsuya managed to let one of his miniscule ones slip out.

Today was Seirin High's Graduation, and the batch of Tetsuya and Taiga were finally going to graduate. Over the past two years, the group of freshmen got along well, like a family of their own. Sure, there were new recruits from their own batch and from younger ones, but they stuck closer than any other. They knew each other as if they've lived together for all their lives, which may be considered true as they've been in the same team, been to the same restaurants and fast food chains, went to the same houses, and used the same locker room for three years straight, from the beginning.

On their second year, Taiga was deemed captain, and Tetsuya, the coach—no matter how one looks at it, Taiga could _never _teach anyone without blowing up; the seniors had faith in the shadow, as he had taught Kise Ryouta, who was the captain of Kaijou—. None of the freshmen grew jealous at that, or resented them for it. Instead, they were the ones who congratulated them first and were the ones to organize a party for their new positions. The duo thought that they were mad at them or jealous or were resenting them, but even Tetsuya couldn't help but let out a nearly ear-to-ear smile at the things they prepared for them.

And now, today, they would part. It was kind of heart breaking, Tetsuya had to admit, to part with the people he's been with for three years of his high school life. It was like breaking up with the Generation of Miracles all over again, the difference that this time, he really had no intentions of leaving. He _had _to leave.

Kawahara stopped fixing the pale blue hair and looked down at him, when the small smile suddenly faded and he grew still. "Kuroko?" He asked. "What's wrong? A penny for your thoughts, perhaps?"

He looked up. It was also quite irritating for the others to grow so tall, and while he, who also grew, was still the shortest. "Nothing much." He said, and looked straight ahead once more. "We might not see each other after this anymore, will we? Life will go on, and we will too."

Furihata chuckled when all others went silent at Tetsuya's bluntness and sudden sentimentality. "Maa, maa, Kuroko. It's not like we're leaving forever. We'll stay basketball, duh! And who knows, we might just see each other as adults, working!"

Taiga scoffed, and all turned to look at him. "Oi, Furihata. You mean we _will _see each other, and there's no damn flipping way we aren't gonna see each other anymore, you dumbasses!" He grinned stupidly, as if he was playing basketball then and there, and he was enjoying the game all too much, but everything was well.

The group laughed at this, and Tetsuya put back his hat after thanking Kawahara, and smiled a little at the scene before him. Peaceful, joyous and positive, even if in less than an hour, they'll be gone. Tears will be shed, and hugs will be given.

And still, life goes on. It doesn't stop, it doesn't go back, and nor does it pause. It plays and plays relentlessly, and nothing can ever stop it.

Maybe it was that fact that Tetsuya hated, or maybe it the was the cold, hard truth that life will go even faster for him, and when it pauses for him, it will pause at the part he didn't ask for.

**-xxx- **

Riko's hair was halfway past her shoulders now, Tetsuya noticed, and that she was the same height as him now. It made him quite depressed that a girl was somehow nearly overtaking him in terms of height, but then again, she was his upperclassman. As a student, as a person, and as a coach. His lips twitched upwards a little at the sight of her walking towards them, in a red blouse and a blue pleated skirt accompanied with black sneakers.

"Yo, everyone!" Riko said and hugged the group of newly-graduated teens, and pulled all their necks together, earning a few gasps and gurgles from them. After a while, she pulled back and grinned at them, showing a victory sign. "Congrats on your graduation, guys!"

They all blinked owlishly, before breaking into smiles and grins and laughter. "Ah! So coach, are you gonna treat us today or something?" Taiga had a shit-eating grin in place, obviously expecting approval from her.

Instead, he got hit at the back of his head, and he looked around to see who did that. "Oi! What the hell—"

"Is that how you talk to your upperclassmen, and to the one who'll treat you, hah, brat?!" A growl came from behind him and Taiga froze at the sight of a taller bespectacled former captain of his, dressed in a white shirt and brown pants, with black shoes. "What kind of brat are you, you ass!"

Taiga immediately looked around him, and saw the other upperclassmen approaching them—Izuki, Tsuchida, Mitobe and Koganei. "Hah?" Taiga blinked. "Where's Kiyoshi-senpai?"

"What's this, you miss him more than us?" Koganei faked a sad look and looked at Mitobe. "Ne, did you hear that, Mitobe? Kagami-kun doesn't miss us, his beloved senpai-tachi, and only misses Kiyoshi!"

Chuckles were heard from all around. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that—"

Tetsuya looked at him with blank eyes hiding amusement, and Taiga flinched. "That's not good, Kagami-kun. Don't bully others."

"Kuroko!—"

The group guffawed in chorus as they watched the giant redhead get all flustered and at the same time, infuriated, at his shadow. It made the upperclassmen proud to see that things were still the same as they once were, and that their bond was as strong as before, if not stronger at all.

"Kuroko, hear me out—"

"—Kagami-kun, you really are no good."

"Why you!"

They continued laughing for a while, until Hyuuga cleared his throat and gained all their attentions. "Well, Bakagami's stupidity aside," said man in statement scowled, "We're here today to congratulate you on your graduations. Like what Kagami said, we _are _treating you to lunch, and Kiyoshi is at the restaurant we're gonna eat at, preparing everything we need for later, considering Kagami."

"Why is it always me?!" Taiga shouted out in indignation, clearly offended by everything his former captain said. "I'm not even doing anything!"

"Really?" Hyuuga shot him a glare. "I've heard stories, you know, and from what I've see, you haven't changed from first year." He scoffed. "Still a brat."

Taiga had no reply to that, finding some truth in it as a miniscule pink stained his cheeks in embarrassment.

Tetsuya tilted his head. "Where will we be eating though, senpai-tachi?"

"Remember the place where we ate after our match with Shuutoku back in the day?" Izuki grinned, remembering a fond memory of a certain green-haired teen and flying okonomiyaki hitting his head. "Well, Kiyoshi's there right now, taking care of a few reservations we made in advance. Who knows, maybe he'll find some…maids to take care of the reservations we made!"

After punching Izuki on the back of his head, Hyuuga continued, "As what this idiot was saying, yeah, that place. This time, we're gonna have proper seats and we've all taken care of the fees." He paused, gesturing to himself and the rest of the former members of the Seirin team. "So, come on, let's go!"

The new graduates nodded among themselves and nodded at their upperclassmen. "Yes!"

**-xxx-**

Messy was an understatement, chaos was close enough.

Once the door to the restaurant opened, Kiyoshi popped out of nowhere and smashed Taiga with a newly-cooked okonomiyaki to the face. He wore a face-ruining grin, and Taiga froze. In a few seconds, he lunged at Kiyoshi and chased him around the restaurant, okonomiyaki dripping off his face and making it turn red due to the fact it was newly-cooked.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group went to their designated spot and made themselves feel comfortable. Today, it seemed that they had the restaurant all to themselves, seeing that no one came in at all, and that most of the tables were joined together at the middle of the place, along with the cushions and the hotpots and mini-stoves which were on each table. There were little baskets placed on the tables, which contained tissues, packaged wipes, spoons, forks, knives, and chopsticks. Other baskets contained the sauces for each meal in glass bottles, and they were accompanied with saucers of different sizes.

Riko and Mitobe didn't sit with them just yet, and so did Koganei and Hyuuga. Riko and Mitobe went to the counter, where the owner stood with a smile, amused with watching the angry redhead chasing down the laughing brunet. Riko and Mitobe were too, but every now and then, her eyebrow ticked at the things Taiga shouted at Kiyoshi, which were not kind at all. Meanwhile, Koganei and Hyuuga went to the tables at the sides and began getting pitchers of waters and filled up some glass while they were at it.

"Oya, what do you need, ojou-san?" The owner's voice shook her out of her stupor, and she looked at him.

"Ah, we're here to get the meat and the vegetables and a few fruits, if you please." She smiled at the old man and looked at Mitobe, "And he's here to help me, since we're gonna need a lot of those meats."

Mitobe nodded, a fond smile on his face. The old man, seeing the smile, chuckled softly to himself and bent down to get the things they reserved. After a minute or two, he came back up, hands and arms filled with raw packages of meat, uncooked vegetables, a few fruits. He gave the fruits and vegetables to Riko, and the heavy ones, the meats, he gave them to the silent player. The two bowed in gratitude, before heading back to their table, where a tired Taiga and a beaming Kiyoshi sat.

The old man smiled at the scene. _'Such precious young ones.' _

**-xxx-**

"Oh, got tired of chasing Kiyoshi now, did you, Kagami?" Riko grinned cheekily at her underclassman, whose face was being wiped off by Tetsuya. How cute and amusing.

Taiga clicked his tongue. "Kiyoshi-senpai pissed me off, but I knew that chasing him even more would just make him have more fun." Then he mumbled to himself, "If you smashed shit on my face, then obviously I can't have my fun."

A few chuckles were heard from all around. "Also, Bakagami,"—_'Don't call me that!'_—" Why is Kuroko the one cleaning your face for you? What are you a kid, hah?" A scowl was set in place on Hyuuga's facial features, but one can see the amusement dancing in his eyes.

"That's because I know that if Kagami-kun even tried to do that while he's pissed," Tetsuya began, scrubbing a bit harder on a particular spot on Taiga's cheek, earning a wince from said male, "It would mean a bigger mess for us to clean up after." He shot him a blank look, but his aura spoke loud. "And he won't help either."

"Haha, true there, Kuroko!" Izuki grinned. "As expected of Seirin's coach, ne?"

Everyone nodded. "Yeah, as expected of Kuroko." Kawahara smiled. "No matter what mess we all get into, especially when it comes to Kagami-kun, he always knows what to do."

"Sou, sou!" Furihata nodded in agreement. "Kuroko-kaa-san strikes again!"

Everyone cracked up at the joke, even Hyuuga and Riko, and of course, Taiga. The only one not amused was Tetsuya, and instead, he sighed. He knew he couldn't do anything at this point, and he admitted to being a worrywart in his own way. But it wasn't his fault. He couldn't help but worry for his teammates, his men, his _friends_.

Though honestly, the nickname was very irritating to the ears.

Luckily, Koganei broke the laughter with a few coughs, and then passed the water to each one of the occupants of the table. They took their waters, and he coughed once more. "Eto…Well, today, we are here to celebrate—"

"This is a graduation party, not a wedding!" Riko called out from the side.

Koganei shot her a look. "As I was saying, today we're here to celebrate our precious kouhai-tachi's graduation with food. Let's hope that they go on with life, and that they succeed in whatever they want to accomplish, and that one day," he paused, and smiled, "We'll continue playing basketball."

Everyone looked among themselves, and nodded. Koganei grinned, and raised his glass. "Well then, cheers!"

"Cheers!"

**-xxx-**

Seijuuro knocked on the mahogany door three times, and waited. After a while, he heard a voice from the other side. "Come in, Seijuuro."

Cautiously, the redhead pushed the double doors open, and took a few steps inside before closing the doors behind him. The room was brightly lit by the fireplace at the left side of the room, and the lamps surrounding each side of the room. Both curtains and carpets were painted a dark maroon, with all furniture having being made of black coloured wood and for the chairs and sofas, made of bright, velvety and crimson red. In front of the fireplace were two sofas, diagonal to each other, and behind them, a few meters away, were three big bookshelves, with said bookshelf was coloured black and most books being about history, business management and a few compilations of magazines as well.

And in the middle, beside the only window in the whole room, were a black wooden table and a chair made of same said black coloured wood and filled with the same red cushion of the sofas. On the chair sat a man who looked to be in his mid-sixties, with striking red hair and a pair of equally red eyes, which were accompanied by the bags under his eyes and wrinkles above them. He wore a dress shirt, with a red and white pinstriped vest above it, and a white necktie that went well with his whole ensemble and a pair of black dress pants and shoes. His chin, which had a few stubbles on them, rested on his intertwined fingers, above the table.

Red bore into red and gold, both lips set into a straight line. The air was comfortable for the two, as both were used to the lingering tension in the room. Both were of authoritative status, but in different ways. One in school and in social endeavours, but the other was different—he was authoritative in all sense of the word; family, friends, business, life, _everything_.

He was old, and he was young. The old knew more and grew with wisdom, while the other believed in fear tactics and held his head up high, wisdom something being simply a trail of dust beside and behind him, but never with him.

The elder's eyes narrowed, and the younger visibly straightened up, and held his head up high. He smirked. The young should know that whatever they have up their sleeve, the old has seen and done it more times than he ever will.

"Don't think you can intimidate me or push me into a corner, Seijuuro." He spoke.

Seijuuro froze, and bent his head down to a normal level. "I am not trying to do such things, and so, please do not accuse me of such, Saniiro-oji-sama."

Saniiro broke into loud laughter. "Really, dear grandson of mine?" He stopped, and looked at him. "Come here, boy."

The teen strode over to his grandfather in such a way he oozed of confidence and power and _authority_, but it had no affect with Saniiro. In fact, it made his smirk wider, and it amused him to no end to see his own grandson walk like he did back in the day, and sometimes, until now.

Once Seijuuro was completely in front of the black wooden table, Saniiro immediately grabbed his school's necktie and dragged him down to his level. Sturdy and _authoritative _red eyes bore into slightly shocked red and gold, and with his free hand, he stroked his face tenderly, watching those pair of heterochromatic eyes widen.

"Such beautiful pair of eyes you have." Saniiro drawled out with each stroke. "You could've had the same red as your father and I had you know…" A thumb caressed the underside of his golden eye. "But you cared too much, didn't you? You cared too much for your friend, and look where that led you to."

Seijuuro frowned a little at his words. "I did have the same red, oji-sama." He said, tilting his head a little as to make the thumb move away from his odd eye. "I cared for them because they're my underlings, and as much as it sounds weird, my _friends_, and I regret nothing with what happened regards to this eye that you seemed to be _so fascinated_ with."

"Heh." Saniiro showed off his pearly white teeth, which no matter how old he aged, remained pure and pleasing to the eye. "You have your mother's blood indeed; that conceitedness of yours came from her, without a doubt. She really did a great job with your father in regards to your birth to this world." He moved his thumb away, and continued to caress his face, however this time, it wasn't as gentle. Seijuuro can feel the hidden roughness of his hands, and visibly flinched with each touch. "You know you can't escape your fate."

"I wasn't trying to."

"But you will."

"I won't."

"You _will_, Seijuuro." He tugged down a little lower, and he watched as his face contorted into discomfort. "You will because it's only when something is near that you realize _how much_ is at stake. It's only when _you're_ near to that _time_ of _change_ when you'll want to stay young, and go farther and farther backwards because _**you're going to run away**_."

Seijuuro scowled and bent down lower, and in his grandfather's face, he snarled. "I won't, and my words are **absolute**!"

"Are you sure?" Slowly, he let go of his grandson's tie. Seijuuro made no effort to move. "Are you sure you won't? Are you sure you have complete absolution over _me_? Are you sure that what you say is absolute?" He leaned closer, and beside his ear, beside the ear which was on the same side of that beautiful, beautiful pure red eye, he whispered, "Are you sure _you_ are _absolute_?"

'_Are you sure of yourself, Seijuuro?'_

With a jerk, Seijuuro pulled back and stood upright. He fixed his necktie, and parts of his collar which were dishevelled from all the pulling. He took a few steps backwards, and coughed. "I will take my leave now, Saniiro-oji-sama."

Saniiro nodded. "Very well. Dismissed."

Seijuuro wasted no time in turning around and walking towards the doors briskly and opened one. He stood between the opened door and the closed one, and looked back once more at his grandfather. His grandfather smirked, and Seijuuro scowled once more, before stepping out completely and shutting the door behind him.

Saniiro smiled to himself, and leaned back on his chair, hands intertwined on his chest. "That one will be a good leader someday."

**-xxx-**

Nijimura looked at his cell phone with a bored expression, unsure with what to do exactly with the message he got. "It's his choice." He mumbled to himself and yawned. "That idiot. This is why he didn't have to follow me in if he wasn't sure with the shit he'd get himself tangled up in."

He lay in his bed, and he dangled his phone by its rainbow strap above him. He stared at it like a cat to catnip, except he was a smart cat. He knew he couldn't get the catnip if he tried, and so, he'll just wait for it to come to him.

Slowly, every now and then, he'd bring the phone closer to his nose, but then, he'd bring it back up. He'd do that over and over again, and while doing so, he'd reread the message over and over again.

"What should I reply…"

With one hand, he held his phone up in the air, and with the other, he typed on its keypad. _'It's his life. He didn't have to follow me in, but he did. He did anyway when I told him of what could possibly happen to him if he went in like me, but he still did.' _He sighed. _'God, you are so stubborn.—in basketball, in studies…and hell, even here.' _

Then, he pressed on one key—backspace—for a while, and once the screen was clear again, he typed his new message. After a while, he surveyed his reply on the screen and nodded to himself.

… "_**Do what you want. It's your life. Don't forget, it's still not too late." … **_

He pressed send.

"Aa—aah." Nijimura drawled out, and reread the message once again over his head. "Damn you, Kuroko."

… "_**I'm going, Nijimura-senpai." …**_

* * *

**(That last line is the message Nijimura replied to, okay?)**

**Done! Well, well, Nijimura ain't just a passing character here, let me tell you. And also, expect Ogiwara Shigehiro's role here in maybe two-four chapters time. He'll be part of the mafia, yet not. Same with Nijimura, but Mr. Rainbow is more on the "yes mafia" side heehee.**

**Well, thoughts? Reactions? Facebook page? Questions?**

**State them in your Reviews please, thank you!**

**-Unscented Rain 0742 (060613)-**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again, dear readers! Rain's back with another chapter, and she hopes that she's not boring you all with her works. She's very happy to see that a lot have been adding her story to their favorites and have been following said story, but most of all, she's amazed to see that some people have added her in their favorites and lists of "people to follow"! After all, her self esteem is next to none-/shot.**

**Anyway, really guys, thank you! This means a lot to me, even if it's still a little number, it's a good start to having this story flourish and grow like a pretty little flower~**

**Also, for the KnB Group on FB, this was my idea: In the group, we go crazy. We meet new people. We share ideas and prompts. We recommend stories. And maybe, we can post prompts or challenges per month or week, and then we post them here! (Also, we can post rough drafts of our upcoming fics on the group page, then we all contribute to it and offer suggestions on making it better-like beta reading, I guess). **

**And that's it. Haven't made the group yet though. /shurgs/ Oh well. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

It was going to be a long night for Tetsuya today, and no matter what happened, he would spend it wisely. This night would be his last night here; his last night with most of his normality intact, and the last night where he would ever come home to this place.

Silently, he placed his clothes in his drawers, organizing them for one last time. Most people would take their clothes when moving out, but he won't. It would just be a hassle for him, and so, he kept most of his civilian clothing, and only left out two white shirts, two black shirts, one red shirt, and a pair of khaki shorts. He stuffed them properly in a leather suitcase—one which looked a lot like his school bag, but a bit bigger and darker— and then he stood up to his closet.

Opening the double doors of the cabinet, he took out a black suit on a hanger, which had a blue dress shirt and a black necktie with it, complete with the pants. He removed it from the hanger, folded them neatly, and placed them in a plastic before inserting it into the leather suitcase gently.

Tetsuya locked his closet, and looked around. Pale and expressionless blue eyes turned soft and just a little bit emotional as he surveyed his room. The bed was made up neatly on the right side of the room, the drawers were all locked and shiny, and his closet was now locked as well. The bookshelves were neatly arranged, with no visible dust reflecting off of them and the posters of basketball players on the walls remained intact.

The only odd one out here was the lone basketball sitting in the room, which had all of the Seirin team's signatures and personal messages to him—as the phantom player, and as the coach.

It brought a smile to his face—a sad one—the longer he looked at it. Words of congratulations and praise were written on it, along with some scribbles and poorly-drawn hearts and basketballs to further deepen the messages behind them.

However, one message made his smile widen with more sadness, and gently, he bent down to caress it.

"_**We're still gonna keep playing basketball, okay, Kuroko? Learn to cook something else for once other than hardboiled eggs! ._." –Kagami Taiga. **_

"Dear me, Kagami-kun," he whispered, controlling his voice and willing it not to crack, "Of course we will, of course _I _will."

'_Who was am I convincing?'_

With his normal expression back on, he stood up, and got his suitcase. It didn't matter if he just wore a black sleeveless shirt and black pants and black shoes and he was going out like that, because he knew—he knew that one day, he'll stop being casual, stop being normal, and one day, he'll be resigned to wear suits and be decorated with tattoos.

He got a paper from his pocket, and placed it on the table, before biting his hand harshly. After a few seconds, he let his hand go, and placed it above the paper, letting a few droplets of blood drip down to it.

'_This is it.' _

After a while, he removed his hand, and wiped it clean on the paper. He got the roll of bandages he hand in his other pocket, tapped the part under his thumb, and once he was done, he cut the tape off and kept it in once more.

He then turned around, and walked towards the door, where Nigou sat with a crestfallen look on his face. "Nigou."

The dog looked up to him, and whined before running to him and attaching himself to his leg, licking part of the skin under the clothing. Tetsuya bent down a little, and rubbed the dog's forehead, as if reassuring him, _'I'll be okay, I promise. Take care of yourself now because I will too.'_

A whine came from Nigou as he looked up and barked. Tetsuya kissed the furry head one last time, before shaking him off. Nigou didn't move.

Tetsuya opened the door, and gave Nigou one last look. "I'll be fine, Nigou."

And then, he went out, and closed the door behind him. That night, Nigou howled for the first time like a lone wolf in the woods, abandoned.

**-xxx-**

The doorbell rang, and Akashi, being the only one left awake, walked to the intercom and pressed the button. "Who are you to disturb our sleep?"

"_**That's not a nice way to talk to your upperclassman, you brat."**_

He blinked at the familiar voice. "Nijimura-senpai?"

"_**Funny how you sound kinda lost right now. Anyway, let me in. Got something to tell you." **_

"At this time of the night?" Akashi raised a brow. "Really, senpai. I am sure you have more manners than this."

A scoff was heard from the speaker. _**"It's damn cold here at like, 11 in the evening, and I came here all the way to tell you about some things that could possibly be important to you, geez! Why the fuck do I even bother?" **_

Akashi felt a vein twitch, and sighed. "The gates shall be opened soon."

When he received no reply, he pressed another button and the authentic Japanese wooden doors, which by the help of electricity and technology, moved to the sides and allowed entrance for Nijimura. Once it was completely open, Nijimura stepped inside, and walked inside the Japanese home as if he knew it—which was true, considering how many times he has come here in the past for team meetings and the like.

In a few seconds, the doors closed once more, and Akashi stepped back. "Good evening, Nijimura-senpai."

Nijimura smirked. "Yeah, yeah. So, got a place in this big-ass home of yours we can talk in that has _no _surveillance cameras?"

"Heh." Akashi smirked and turned around. Red and gold met steel silver. Nijimura was always to the point, no matter how irritating he may be. He was older, ruder, but definitely smarter, stronger, wiser and deadlier—just as the captain of Teiko before him should be. "I'm afraid there's none, senpai. However, we can go out to the garden if you'd like, as the cameras there haven't been functioning well ever since a maid fell into the pond, and the water went everywhere."

"'That so?" Nijimura looked amused. "Let's stay by the pond, then."

Akashi's smirk widened. "Of course."

**-xxx-**

"So, what is it you want to talk to me about, senpai?" Akashi said as he remained standing, assessing the former captain of Teiko sit on a huge rock by the koi pond. "I know you are always straight to the point, and that nothing stops you from getting said points across. So I am curious as to what could it be which is so important, that you had to barge into my home at this time of the night."

Nijimura hummed to himself, and got an apple from his jacket. He wiped it with his shirt for a while, before bringing it to his mouth and biting it. He pulled away after a while, and began to chew. "You know, Akashi, things are bound to get harder for you soon." He said, before taking another bite.

"I can tell that much at least, senpai." He said, biting back a scoff. "What are you trying to say?"

"Your graduation's next week, isn't it?" Nijimura asked all of a sudden, and looked up to the half-moon in the starry night sky. "Congratulations in advance."

Akashi wasn't sure on how to reply to him, and the older took that as his cue to continue speaking. "You're really unlucky, you know that? You'll be entering the business just when I'm completely immersed in it, and by the time you're going to near your peak, I'll be stepping down, probably." He took another bite, and while looking at the moon, he gestured to his bitten apple. "Want one?"

"And what are you trying to imply, dear _Nijimura Clan Heir_?" Akashi let a small grin bloom on his face as he spoke. "Are you trying to say that I'll need your help when the time comes? Are you saying that when I enter, you, my _senpai_, will be higher than me and you'll have to show me the ropes?" He scoffed. "I digress."

"I know you do." Nijimura took another bite when he realized that Akashi refused his apple—more for him then. "I know you digress, you always do when it comes to your power and authority, _Akashi Clan Heir_." He bit again. "You will need my help when the time comes, Akashi, and I'm here already to offer you my help while I still can—because once you're in deep shit in our world, getting help would make you seem weaker and more pathetic in the eyes of other pieces of shit, who've probably been in deeper shit than you had." He scoffed and bit aggressively on his apple, as if he were pissed. He chewed for a while, an after he swallowed, he seemed to have calmed down visibly. "So what do you say, need my help?"

"I don't see the point of you _offering_ your help or me _asking_ for it at all." Akashi replied nonchalantly with a shrug. "I assure you, when the time comes, you'll laugh at yourself for even belittling me for a moment. I don't need your help now, not tomorrow or ever, like I never needed your help in the past."

Nijimura let out a low whistle. "You really think so, huh?" He turned to look at Akashi in the eye. Confident and nonchalant red and gold collided with steely silver, basking in the moonlight and giving it a bluish glow. He smirked. "This is an once-in-a-lifetime offer, you know. It's best to get all the help you can get now while you're still unsure if you should take a piss or take shit, you know?"

Akashi raised a brow once more, and crossed his arms below his chest. "I'm telling you know, and I'll tell you over and over again if I have to, that I don't need it or _you_."

Nijimura grinned. "Not even if I tell you that the Generation of Miracles are involved?"

The redhead's eyes visibly narrowed, like a hunter spotting his prey. However, Akashi knew it wasn't like that—he _knew _he was the _prey_ here, and the black haired teen—_adult_—was the hunter, no doubt about it. "What are you getting at this time, senpai?"

"I already know of your decisions, you know." He bit again. "You plan on getting each one of them to help you in your future life, and you know, without a doubt, that they'll help you because you're all such a tight-knit group and you know that you'll rise to the top with them in no time." He chuckled dryly to himself. "You think it's just like basketball and shogi, and maybe you're right. But you're not."

"I'm not surprised you knew, considering you were one of the people who knew me well, and still do." Akashi said. "Yes, I do plan to get them in with me. I've already asked them directly and indirectly about it. They've all given their consents, and I'm sure that even Daiki understood that all I asked them weren't all rhetorical questions after all, or jokes either." He paused. "I asked them all—Shintarou, Atsushi, Ryouta, Daiki, Tetsuya and yes, even Shougo."

Nijimura raised a brow, but kept his grin in place. "I see you know how to choose your pieces well, king." He said. "But you have a problem here, Akashi—two aren't gonna make it. One's gonna go away—far, far away—while one's simply not gonna stay with you because he doesn't wanna. They're both gonna have lives of their own, yet they'll be stuck together." His grin grew. "In the end you'll be left with four only, and maybe me too, who knows?"

Akashi growled lowly in his throat, and Nijimura bit off his apple again, which was almost gone. "What, are you trying to intimidate me now because you can see the future? Senpai, that doesn't work. **I am absolute**."

"Really now?" Nijimura stood up and went to Akashi. He stopped just two steps away from him, and bent down and whispered in front of his nose, "Are you sure you're absolute, and that you'll remain absolute forever?" He smirked. "Absolution stays only when one is truly wise and knowledgeable. Absolution is authority, and authority is power, and power brings about strength, you know." He leaned in just a bit closer and his voice dropped down low. "Are you _even sure of yourself_, Akashi Seijuuro?"

Akashi froze for a while, but then he grinned with lethality. He reached for Nijimura's tie and yanked him down harshly, so that the redhead was looking down on him. "I'll show it to you, then. I'll rise to the top with my men, my _friends_, and I'll make you realize that looking down on me was the biggest mistake of your life."

"Heh." Njimura stood back up abruptly, and Akashi let go of his tie. He walked ahead of him and spoke. "I'm not a fortune teller, but **I am absolute**, and I know what's gonna happen because I've been there, while you're not even halfway in yet, brat." He stopped and threw him a grin. "I'm the real deal, you're still a brat who knows nothing. So then, we'll see about that power shit you talk about, okay?"

Akashi smirked. "I'd like to see you try, dear Nijimura-senpai."

Nijimura laughed and threw the apple behind him, falling directly into the middle of the pool. Akashi watched his retreating back, not minding the koi fishes that panicked at the sudden intrusion of their home.

His upperclassman raised his hand and waved at him and said, "Good luck, kid!" Nijimura called out from his place, which luckily, wasn't so far yet that he had to shout. He dropped his hand and looked down, a smile in place.

"You're so gonna need that shit."

**-xxx-**

Taiga woke up happy and refreshed, making himself a delicious breakfast and taking a long shower in relaxation. Today, he was officially a graduate of high school now, and today, he and Tetsuya are going to play basketball as adults.

Not entirely as adults, but as men who graduated school and more or less, have freedom over their own lives now.

He stepped out of the shower and dressed up in his own casual pace into his sports attire—a red muscle shirt, black shorts, and black and red basketball shoes. He fixed his hair a bit before looking at himself in the mirror, and grinning at himself. Then, he got his gym bag, rushed out his room and went out of the house.

Tetsuya's house wasn't that far from his, and it took him a good fifteen minutes to get there by walking. He didn't want to waste energy before playing with him, and who knows, they meet that Ahomine on the courts too. More the reason he shouldn't waste energy, since a match with him takes up a lot of sweat from him too.

He then rang the doorbell, and waited for someone to come out. When no one came out, he ran again. "Oi! Kuroko, I'm here!"

There was no reply.

Taiga then knocked on the door repeatedly, still shouting. "Oi, Kuroko, come out! You promised that we'd play today, oi!"

Growing frustrated, he stopped knocking and held the knob. "I'm coming inside, whether you like it or not, your bastard!" He said and turned the knob. Red eyes widened when the door opened easily, having not been locked at all.

"K-Kuroko?" Taiga cautiously stepped inside, closing the door behind him and not bothering to remove his shoes—just wiping it on the rug inside. It was dark, quiet and eerie. Everything seemed to be in place, save for the fact that no one seemed to be home. _'Don't tell me that guy forgot our plans today!' _

Luckily, he knew where his friend's room was. He went up the stairs, and turned right, before stopping at the baby blue door at the corner. He knocked three times. "Kuroko, I'm here!"

Again, there was no reply. Taiga knocked again and again, but no one replied. Instead, he heard a familiar whine—

He turned the knob, and was surprised at the fact it was unlocked. It was unlocked but Tetsuya wasn't here. Maybe he did go out and forgot to lock the door? But even Taiga knew that was unlikely—Tetsuya would never be so careless. So what happened?

Taiga felt a brush on his legs and gawked in surprise as Nigou rubbed himself against him. "O-Oi you mutt, what the hell are you doing?" His fear of dogs overtook him once more, and he could only stare frozen as he pawed at his legs and whine, his head turning over to the table by the shadow's bed. "Wh-What are you trying to say?"

Nigou got off of him, and ran towards the table, barking at it. Taiga, feeling part of himself come back again, followed the dog and looked at what he was barking at. "Okay, what is it—"

He paused as he saw a paper on the table, and he felt himself tremble at the sight. _'W-What the hell is this…is this some kind of sick joke?' _He thought to himself, as Nigou's barking was muted in his ears in shock. He forced himself to move, and for a moment he did. He got the paper with shaky hands and then, he fell down on one knee, and began to shake. "N-No way…what the hell, Kuroko…"

It was too weird, too bizarre for all this to happen. Yesterday was just graduation. They just had fun together. He was greeted with an okonomiyaki to the face yesterday and he smiled with the laughter around them. Was this a prank? A joke? Or something real?

He traced the words written on the paper, and as if he were shocked, he jolted in surprised. He got his phone and began to dial a number he never really thought he'd call until now. He placed the phone to his ear, and sat still as it rang and rang. Then, someone picked up.

"_**Hello?"**_

"Mo-Momoi, is this you?"

"_**Ara, Kagamin! Why are you calling Dai-chan's phone? Request for a match?"**_

Taiga shook his head. "It's not that…it's…it's Kuroko…Kuroko…"

"_**Tetsu-kun? What happened to Tetsu-kun? Kagamin, are you okay?" **_

He bit his lip. "I…I think Kuroko killed himself…oh shit…oh shit…"

There was a shrill scream from the other side, and then, the voice changed. _**"Oi Bakagami, what's this about Tetsu killing himself, ahn?" **_

"I'm in his house. It was unlocked. I don't know okay, I don't know where he is. All I found in his room was a paper and…and blood on it, Ahomine. Kuroko's fucking _blood_. What the fucking hell am I supposed to think?! It's…it's either he killed himself or someone killed him!"

**-xxx-**

When Daiki heard his phone ring, he let Momoi answer it. She seemed to be having fun talking to whoever was on the line, so he just leaned back on the couch and continued reading his magazines. However, when he heard her grow quiet, and she suddenly shrieked, he bolted up from his position and rushed over. "Satsuki!"

Momoi seemed to be hyperventilating, and so he laid her on the couch. "Kagamin…T-Tetsu-kun…Killing himself…Ah—no…" She mumbled to herself, and began shrieking again. Daiki clicked his tongue, and got the phone.

"Oi Bakagami, what's this about Tetsu killing himself, ahn?" He growled into the phone.

He heard the redhead breathe in and out on the other line, and he couldn't help but worry. What the hell was going on? _**"I'm in his house. It was unlocked. I don't know okay, I don't know where he is. All I found in his room was a paper and…and blood on it, Ahomine. Kuroko's fucking blood. What the fucking hell am I supposed to think?! It's…it's either he killed himself or someone killed him!"**_

Navy blue eyes widened, and he said into the phone, "His house, right? I'll come over!" He didn't give the redhead time to reply and put down the phone. He looked at his childhood friend who still seemed to be in shock. _'Satsuki…' _

Daiki brought her up a little, and chopped the back of her neck, effectively knocking her out. He laid her back down, and headed for the door. He grabbed a jacket, wore his shoes, and ran out. _'Sorry 'bout that, Satsuki,' _he thought to himself. _'Man, she really loves Tetsu so much she screamed.' _

In less than thirty minutes, he arrived at the Kuroko household, sweat dripping from his forehead. He wiped the sweat with his jacket, and the first thing he noticed was that the door was wide open.

"_**I'm in his house. It was unlocked." **_

Daiki squished the feeling of panic and worry in his stomach down, and bolted up the stairs, not bothering to remove or wipe his shoes. It was so quiet. He knew that the Kuroko household was quiet by nature, but this…It was all too creepy. It was as if they weren't here at all or here to begin with even.

"_**I don't know where he is." **_

The tanned teen clicked his tongue and turned right to Tetsuya's room. What he saw made him freeze. The door was open. Nigou was barking at the paper in Taiga's hands, Taiga was shaking in shock. He walked towards them, his steps solid on the hard floor.

"_**All I found in his room was a paper and…"**_

'_Christ no.' _Daiki chanted in his head as he loomed over the redhead, and looked at the paper. _'No, no, no, no, no, no. No. No no no no no no no no no no no no.' _

"…_**and blood on it, Ahomine. Kuroko's fucking blood." **_

In the redhead's hands was a piece of white paper, with the word _**Goodbye **_written in Tetsuya's print. On the word and on different parts of the paper were droplets of blood and smudges of them. Daiki looked at the table and noted that there were smudges of blood there as well. Daiki clenched his fists, and bit the inside of his cheeks.

"_**It's…it's either he killed himself or someone killed him!" **_

Daiki stood in shock, and held his head low. _'Tetsu…'_

* * *

**Uh-oh! What's gonna happen now?! **

**...Actually I already know haha. I've written chapter 4 in advance already since school's about to start soon, and my updates will be erratic as hell. I'll be posting it anytime this or next week, and by then, I would've also done chapter 5 already and upload it soon, then by then I've done chapter 6, and so on and so forth.**

**On another note, I stated on the summary about ten years later. Some might be wondering when will it happen, and I'm telling you all now that you all better watch out for chapters 5, 6, and 7. These will be the slow turning points of everything. I'm keeping things at a slow and steady pace in order to build up plot development, and character development as well. I'm sorry, but that's my style.**

**Oh? Another little spoiler this time? Well, read this.**

**"Akashi never tasted blood so bitter than the one in his mouth." nyehehe.**

**Do leave a review about what you thought about this chapter!**

**-Unscented Rain 0742 (060813)-**


	4. Chapter 4

**Eek thanks so much for the feedback! Waaaaah #gives you all flowers and chocolates. **

**Oh btw, dear Chaikia, the pairings are still unsure. (thanks for the review, btw) i'm contemplating whether i should still put or not, since I'm not sure how it'll end up in the end wah x.x**

**To Infinitecity: HELLO KABAYAN SALAMAT DSGSGSRG HIIII #HYSTERICAL WAVING HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO US HIHIHIHIHI**

**Okay, here's chapter four. Enjoy and please review~!**

* * *

The first one Daiki called wasn't the police, but Akashi. It was instinct, maybe, or somewhere deep inside him, he knew and believed that _Akashi was always right, he always knew what to do_.

After a few rings, Akashi picked up. Without even letting the redhead finish his greeting, Daiki said in one breath. "Tetsu's missing."

The phone call was abruptly ended, and he heard footsteps coming from outside. He turned to the door and found Momoi, panting with red face—probably ran all the way here. "Satsuki."

"D-Dai-chan…" She whispered breathily and walked over to them, and looked over Taiga's back. A gasp was heard, and she placed her hands over her mouth, as if preventing herself from screaming once more. "T-Tetsu-kun…that's Tetsu-kun's…"

"I know!" Daiki shouted, eyes closed in frustration and hands balled into fists by his sides. His back was shaking, and a few beads of sweat were threatening to fall from his forehead. "I know, okay!? I already called Akashi to have him look at this!"

Momoi flinched at the sudden loudness, but said nothing as she turned away from the redhead on the floor, and looked down. Peach coloured eyes widened as she watched droplets of water fall onto Tetsuya's carpeted floor—she didn't even realize her eyes were brimming with tears already. She watched as more fell to the ground as she kept her head hung low, and Nigou came over to her. He licked the wet spots on the carpet, as if in his own weird way, was trying to comfort her even if he disliked her.

They heard another pair of footsteps heading up the stairs, and in a few seconds, the feared captain of Rakuzan stood by the door, face expressionless as he looked around the room. "What happened, Daiki?"

The tanned teen said nothing and looked at Taiga, who was still bent on one knee, clutching the paper in his hands tightly, crumpling it a bit. Akashi's eyes widened as he saw the paper.

"_**Goodbye." **_

There was red on it, red much like his own eyes and hair. Red like his scissors. Red _blood_. It was unnerving to see such a colour mixed with his precious friend's handwriting in his own room, because Tetsuya never really did look good with red. Water did not mix well with fire after all.

"Kagami." Akashi called out, and the taller redhead looked up to him. "What happened?"

Taiga swallowed his saliva. "Today we were supposed to play basketball in the courts. I came here today to pick him up, but then when I rang the bell, no one answered. Then the door was unlock. Then so was his room…Then that mutt over there," he gestured to Nigou, "began whining to me and then barked at the table. I looked to see what it was then I f-found this paper…I-I didn't know what to do and so I called Ahomine since well, Kuroko said he might or might not join us later."

"The one who answered was Satsuki." Daiki continued. "After hearing Satsuki shriek, I took over, listened to what he had to say, then I came here. You know what happened next."

It was strange for the navy haired teen to be so quiet, so serious. He wanted to break, to scream too and to punch a wall. But he couldn't. Wouldn't. Can't. He had to stand tall, because he knew that in situations like these, someone—_anyone—_needs to be calm as much as possible.

But at the amount of force he's placing onto his fingernails were signs that _he was not calm at all _as he felt his nails dig deeper into his palms. _'Akashi knows what to do. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows. He's Akashi for fuck's sake, he knows. He knows. __**He knows**__.' _

The room was silent, and Akashi continued to look at the paper with unreadable eyes. '_No, no, no, no, no.' _Daiki caught his hands ball into fists, and Daiki felt all hope drown that instant as he hung his head low as well, fighting back the sobs threatening to escape. "Damn it!"

'_Akashi…doesn't know what to do.' _

**-xxx- **

It took about half an hour for Taiga to calm down, and Akashi, Momoi and Daiki accompanied him to gather all the Seirin members. The situation was explained thoroughly, and the paper was shown to each one. As one whole team of their own, they split up and looked around town, searching for clues as to where the phantom could've gone. Most were assigned to look within the area, while some who had money on them, took trains to other places took look for him.

Riko, Taiga, Hyuuga checked around the sports store and Maji Burger, Koganei and Mitobe checked the parks and street courts, Izuki and Tsuchida checked over at Kaijou. Furihata and Kiyoshi checked over at Shuutoku, Fukuda and Kawahara went over to Yosen, and the remaining former Teiko students went to their respective schools to look for Tetsuya.

The former coach and captain of Seirin looked around at each store and Maji, but never asked the salesmen as they would not even notice him. They stayed longer in Maji though, as they knew that he would appear randomly when you least expect it there, sipping on a vanilla milkshake without a care in the world.

But he didn't.

Koganei and Mitobe had a little luck on their side, as they overheard some kids talking about "a ghost late last night was playing basketball" in the court near Taiga's house. Immediately, they sent text messages to their fellow search party members, and continued to look around.

Over at Kaijou, things got messy. The eccentric blonde caught wind of the news, and followed the two teens from Seirin in their search around Kanagawa. They checked at all possible places where Tetsuya could be, and the places he and Tetsuya hung out in once in a while whenever said phantom was in the area with him. At the same time, Ryouta put his fans to good use, and made them help the search by asking around the school, street courts, and convenience stores.

The green haired shooter did not offer his help to Furihata and Kiyoshi, however, he sent Takao on a quiet weird journey to look for his luck item for tomorrow, which coincidentally, covered the whole area Shuutoku was located in. Shintarou ordered the two from Seirin to ride his rickshaw, and Takao peddled on his own, without actually waiting for Shintarou's consent. He too, was worried for the teen whom he considered his eternal and destined rival.

Both teams came out with no results.

Murasakibara seemed nonchalant about the matter, however he skipped practice with Himuro, and both of them searched around the deeper areas of Akita, and let the duo from Seirin search around the safer areas. In a while, the two from Yosen met up with the two from Seirin, and told them that they were able to catch a little clue from an elderly couple who were talking among themselves about a "pale blue-haired teen who looked like he needed to eat more, and was so like a ghost, a sickly one." Fukuda and Kawahara sent texts to all involved, and continued their searches.

Touou was in the same area as Seirin, however they were in the deeper side where most business areas are and gangs as well. Momoi searched within the school, while Daiki checked the courts and alleyways where gangs were most likely to reside. However, their search brought about no results, but they refused to leave until they find something.

Akashi knew the whole area of Kyoto by heart, both safe and unsafe places of said area. He ordered the cancellation of practice, and had the whole team search for the phantom sixth man of Teiko. Luckily, his members had good eyes, so if ever they saw Tetsuya in the shadows, they'd be able to spot him easier.

But he wasn't anywhere at all.

Before they knew it, it was already two hours past lunch time, and they all met up at the street courts by a park with a summon from Akashi. "Well, what have you all found?"

Koganei raised his hand, "Well nothing much, but apparently Kuroko kind of passed by Kagami's house late last night. Or at least, that's how it sounded like, since the kids were talking about a ghost playing basketball there, and the only one who can probably be mistaken as a ghost is Kuroko." He looked at his partner. "Ne, Mitobe?" Mitobe nodded.

"We kind of heard the same thing too." Kawahara said. "We heard an elderly couple talking about a pale boy who looked like he needed to eat more and was like a ghost too." He paused. "A sickly ghost."

Taiga raised a brow, calmer and much more in his mind than earlier. "What do you mean, 'sickly'?"

"We don't know." Fukuda admitted. "I mean, Kuroko does look pale and thin and all, and a bit sickly too. But I don't understand why that was mentioned at all."

Akashi narrowed his eyes. "Anyone else?" He was the unofficial leader for this, and yet, even _he_ found nothing. Everyone knew that, but did not say anything about it. It was shameful for him to not find anything, but at the same time, he couldn't expect anything less from Tetsuya. Whether something happened to him or what, he was still able to hide himself well. "If you are sure that no one else found anything, let's analyse the problem at hand here." He paused. "What are your thoughts on this matter?"

"I'm thinking Tetsu either killed himself or was killed." Daiki said, breaking the silence. "That note was more or less a suicide letter, in my opinion."

Ryouta flinched and looked away a bit. The idea of his Kurokocchi killing himself just…just…just seemed so—so _wrong_. "I—I don't think so." He spoke up. "I'm thinking someone killed Kurokocchi, and left that letter, pretending it was him. Or maybe, " he swallowed the lump in his throat, "Maybe Kurokocchi was _planning _to kill himself, but then someone else killed him, which explains the note."

No one spoke about hearing the Generation of Miracles' most idiotic members speak their minds on the matter. It was expected; they were most likely the closest to the blue-haired phantom back in Teiko, and it was just right that they were the most affected on this matter.

"I'm thinking he—he was kidnapped. Or he ran away from home." Taiga said. "I doubt he's dead, since all of you said that he was seen or at least noticed once or twice in different places. Kuroko couldn't just have had killed himself just like that!" Taiga believed in what he said; Kuroko Tetsuya, the strong-willed, short, and blank-faced phantom simply just _doesn't _kill himself. He _doesn't_. He _didn't_. He would _never_. He _will not_.

Tetsuya was stronger than that.

No one said anything at the three who could proudly claim they knew the phantom the best. Akashi may know what the phantom may or may not be hiding from him, but Ryouta, Daiki and Taiga would know his reasons.

"Are there any other opinions?" Akashi received none. Then, he turned to the three who voiced their thoughts out loud. "All of your opinions may or may not correct, as our leads now practically amount to nothing, after all. However, I expect that you hold onto them and later on, we shall see who is right."

Somehow, it sounded like a challenge, but they didn't take it that way. They took it as a warning of some sorts. They heard it as one: _"If someone else is right, accept it. If it's worse than we imagined, accept and detest it." _

The trio nodded, and Akashi spoke up again. "Let us all head back to Tetsuya's home, and see if he…he came back, or we find anything else."

Silently, Akashi walked in front of all of them and they followed without any complaints. Murasakibara continued eating, and Takao continued to pedal with Shintarou at the back, which held his lucky item—a stuffed bird—in his hand. It seemed normal, but Hyuuga didn't get mad once, nor did Ryouta sparkle. It was still different and unacceptable to all that Tetsuya was missing, but some did try to accept it—accept that the phantom truly became a shadow now, and it was best to leave the darkness to itself.

But it was because it was Kuroko Tetsuya they were concerned about that they all froze in shock when they arrived at the Kuroko household, which was currently burning to ashes.

Akashi never tasted blood so bitter than the one in his mouth.

**-xxx- **

"We don't know what could've caused this," the fireman began as he looked at the group of teens, "But we know it _wasn't_ accidental at all."

When they arrived, they all stood in shock. A few firemen came up to them and pushed them away to the empty lot three streets away and let them stay there, where they were sure to be safe. However, once the teens no longer heard the sounds of water hoses or the shouting of the firemen, they slowly walked back to the lot of where the Kuroko household used to stand, and here they were now—standing in a basically empty lot filled with ashes and fallen debris with remnants of smoke in the air.

Shintarou bit himself back at lashing at him. It was _damn_ obvious it wasn't, because a simple gas leak or a spontaneous combustion could only burn a room at most, and _not_ a whole house at such a fast rate—not to mention, there was nothing that could've caused it because from what Akashi said, everything was in order. The way Tetsuya fixes his things makes sure that nothing could ever get caught on fire or in the window or anywhere at all. "Do you know what could've caused this?"

The fireman retrieved a heavily dark-tinted bottle from his pocket, and showed it to him and the others. "We found lots of this scattered around the house, and we're suspecting that it's oil." He said, shaking it a bit. "But we're also guessing that some other flammable substance was inside, since well, the lawn was _wet_ a while ago."

"But oil doesn't react well with water, right?" Himuro asked. "And so do others. So what could've been in the bottle that mixed well with oil and caused such…such a big fire?"

The fireman shrugged. "We don't know, kids." He said. "I'm guessing though that lots of Hydrogen was mixed with it, some Sulphur, and maybe a few Carbons here and there." He said mostly to himself, but the others heard him loud and clear. He then cleared his throat, and promptly excused himself, leaving the shocked teens to themselves.

"What now…" Momoi mumbled, tears threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes. "We have no leads this time…everything's gone…"

"Speaking of which…" Takao spoke up. "Didn't he have a dog?"

Ryouta looked away. "Nigou was probably eaten up by the fire too." He said. "After all, all that's left on Kurokocchi's lot now are ashes and broken pieces of wood."

"Tch. Now even the mutt's gone…" Taiga clicked his tongue. He never really did like Tetsuya's dog, but with it being the last part of Tetsuya in his midst, it was depressing to know that even he was gone. "What else is gonna be taken from us?"

Everyone kept silent; _'What now?'_ indeed.

Suddenly, they were shook out of their stupors when the sounds of police cars coming was heard, and said cars parked at the lot where they were at. Men and women clad in blue ensembles with red and gold badges all over them stepped out of the car with their guns and batons, and as one, they entered the lot and inspected the area.

Taiga wanted to scream, to shoot basketballs at them because _goddamn it, they can't just waltz in this home like they own the fucking place._

But he can't. He can't because he doesn't even own the lot or the house. He can't because they're police, and they have very good reasons as to why they _can_ get inside because of the fire. He can't because there is _no_ home anymore because what's a home when there's **nothing** there?

So Taiga settled for closing his eyes and turning his head to the side, biting the inside of his cheeks as his hands balled into fists beside him.

However after a while, his eyes shot open when an officer stepped up to him and said, "Kagami Taiga, yes?" Taiga nodded, his teeth letting go of the sore muscle it bit on, his fists relaxing a bit.

He then noticed the pen and paper then in the man's hands. Inspector. Questions. Interrogations. He didn't want any of this right now, but he didn't have a choice in this shit anymore. Like he ever did, anyway. The officer shot him a look, and Taiga nodded. "They say you were the one, who found out first that no one was inside, is this true?"

Taiga nodded, and the inspector took this as his cue to continue. "Normally you would've been charged with Trespassing Private Property," Taiga flinched at this, "However, it seemed that it was consented, seeing as you were picking up someone, and witnesses say that Kuroko Tetsuya really did let you at times, yes?"

Another nod. "What did you see in the empty house?"

"Everything." He said. "Everything was in place, everything that I usually saw when I went there. The only thing out of place there was the dog and the paper and the—" Dark red eyes widened. "The basketball."

It seemed that the inspector knew about the first two, as he only raised a brow at the last part. "The basketball?"

"There was a basketball in the middle of the room, the same basketball we all signed on yesterday as our graduation gift to him." Something was clicking inside Taiga's mind, but he didn't know what. Something was off, but at the same time, right. "It might have had something to do with the letter. Maybe he was saying goodbye to us. The team."

By now the Inspector was scribbling like crazy, completely unaware of this as was the interrogated one. "What else can you remember? What else can you join together? Opinions?"

"I'm guessing—we're guessing—that either Kuroko was kidnapped or killed or something." Taiga said. "We thought he killed himself, but then his body would've been there. So maybe he was kidnapped…but we still don't understand the blood…and the ball, why didn't I notice that ball?" He mumbled, but was heard perfectly. "Also, it seems that yesterday he was spotted playing basketball late at night and we don't know when, but he was also in Akita."

"What else?" The Inspector egged him on. "Anything else you can say? Remember? _See_?"

The image of the bedroom came to mind again. Closed windows. Paper on desk. Dried blood. Nigou. The basketball.

He shook his head. "Nothing left."

"Alright then." The Inspector kept his pen and paper and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Well, thanks kid. Normally we'd ask for the paper," Taiga growled low in his throat, "But we figured that it wouldn't actually do us much good now. Everything's gone, and truth to be told, that paper can't do much for us anymore."

He walked away then, leaving the redhead to himself. He growled. If they even took that paper from him, he knew he wouldn't last. It was the last thing Tetsuya left for him, and hell, even that basketball was gone.

'_Damn it.' _He thought. _'Everything's going down to hell.' _

Taiga turned around, and went back to tell his friends about what he remembered, hands in his pockets. His right hand clenched tightly at the paper in his pocket, fearing that if he let go, so will his memory of his Shadow.

**-xxx-**

Akashi leaned against the concrete wall, his eyes closed. He recalled what Taiga told him a while, and tried to piece the pieces together—basketball, signatures, dog, paper and blood. There was no connection save for the paper and basketball. If the paper and blood were considered as one, it just further complicated things.

He sighed.

'_Tetsuya,' _He thought. _'What have you done?'_

Then, he began to rack his mind for anything—anything at all—that can finally give him a lead about his phantom friend. The phone call from Daiki, his shogi game, basketball, Nigou—

Ceramic white eyelids shot up.

'_The paper,' _he thought, _'When I saw it, it was partially crumpled and folded at some places already, which was probably due to Kagami's shock and anger and all his emotions flowing out.' _Heterochromatic eyes widened as the images compiled together in his mind, creating a mini-film of its own. _'The folded parts enabled me to see the back of the paper. It was supposed to be a plain, coupon bond paper of sorts, but the back—from what I saw—had a mark. It wasn't blood or mucus or ink…it was imprinted on the paper. An insignia.' _

His face hardened as he continued to rack his brain to zoom in on the folded parts of the paper which was due to the unsteady hands of one Kagami Taiga. Black circle, black star, and vines surrounding the outline of the circle. It was familiar, familiar, familiar, familiar—

"_**Ara, ara, are you the next heir of the Akashi Clan? It's nice to meet you, my name is—"**_

A low growl slowly made its way out of his throat as a deadly smirk bloomed on his face. "Well, well. I didn't expect this kind of connection…"

"_**My name is Nijimura Shuuko, it's a pleasure to meet you, Seijuuro-kun."**_

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**omg hi guys done with chapter 5 and nyehehehehehehehe. I hope you enjoyed this. I enjoyed writing this the best wheee~!**

**Till next time, please review!**

**-Unscented Rain 0742 (061213)-**


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